A bookkeeper records every sale, purchase and payment your business makes, keeps those records accurate and has them ready when you or your accountant need them. That is the job in one sentence. The 13 duties below show what it looks like day to day, and which of them a small business owner can comfortably do alone.
You do not need an accounting degree to keep good books. You need a regular habit and somewhere sensible to put the numbers.
What does a bookkeeper do for a small business?
Most of a bookkeeper’s work falls into 3 groups:
- Recording: entering income and expenses, invoices and bills, so nothing is missing.
- Checking: comparing the books with the bank statement and fixing anything that does not match.
- Reporting: producing the figures you use to make decisions, and the figures your accountant uses at the year end.
Here are 13 duties that sit inside those groups. They are a guide, not a complete list, and not every bookkeeper does all of them.
13 duties that keep a small business’s books in order
1. Record every sale and purchase
Each time money comes in or goes out, it gets an entry: the date, the amount, who it was with and what it was for. A customer pays an invoice, a supplier sends a bill, you pay for fuel or renew your insurance. Recorded on the day, each one is a small job. Left for a month, the same job takes an evening.
2. Keep the records up to date and accurate
Accurate books are current books. A bookkeeper keeps a steady rhythm, so the figures you look at today describe today and not last quarter.
3. Reconcile the books with the bank statement
Reconciling means ticking each entry in your books against the matching line on the bank statement. Anything left over is either a missing entry, a duplicate or a mistake. This is the step that turns “probably right” into “checked”.
4. Send invoices and track who owes you money
The money customers owe you is called accounts receivable. A bookkeeper sends invoices, records payments when they arrive and notices when one is late, so you can follow it up while the work is still fresh in your customer’s mind.
5. Pay suppliers on time
The money you owe is called accounts payable. Keeping a list of bills and their due dates means suppliers are paid when agreed, and you can see what is going out before it goes.
6. Keep receipts and supporting documents
An entry in the books is stronger with the receipt or invoice behind it. A bookkeeper keeps these in order, so any figure can be traced back to the paper or file it came from.
7. Watch cash flow
Cash flow is the money moving in and out of the business. A business can be profitable on paper and still be short of cash in a given week. Watching the timing of income and bills helps you see a gap before it arrives.
8. Look after VAT records
If your business is registered for VAT, the VAT you charge on sales and the VAT you pay on purchases need recording correctly, because those figures go into your VAT Return. You can read more in our guide to what a VAT return is.
9. Keep the records you need for tax
HMRC expects a business to keep records of its income and expenses. A bookkeeper keeps them complete, so when a tax return is due the figures already exist and nobody is rebuilding the year from bank statements.
10. Run payroll, if you employ people
Some bookkeepers also process payroll: working out wages, deductions and payments for employees. Not every small business needs this. Many owners who work alone never do.
11. Handle foreign currency transactions
If you buy or sell in another currency, each transaction needs recording at the right value, so your books show what the money was really worth in your own currency.
12. Count and value stock
Businesses that hold stock count it from time to time and compare the count with the records. The value of stock at the year end feeds into the profit figure, so the count matters more than it looks.
13. Prepare reports and get the books ready for an accountant
From the recorded transactions a bookkeeper produces the main reports: the profit and loss account, which shows whether the business made money over a period, and the balance sheet, which shows what it owns and owes on a given day. Our step-by-step guide shows how to make a balance sheet. Clean books are also what your accountant needs to prepare year-end accounts and returns.
Bookkeeper or accountant: who does what?
The 2 roles work together, but they are not the same job.
| Bookkeeper | Accountant |
|---|---|
| Records and organises transactions day to day | Uses those records to prepare year-end accounts and tax returns |
| Reconciles the books with the bank | Advises on tax, structure and planning |
| Produces regular reports from the records | Interprets the figures and signs off accounts where needed |
Keeping your own books through the year and paying an accountant for the year end is a normal way to split the work.
Which duties can you do yourself?
Most of them, especially while the business is small. Recording income and expenses, reconciling with the bank, sending invoices and checking your reports are habits, not specialist skills. Payroll, complicated VAT and year-end accounts are where many owners bring in help.
A simple way to start: pick a day each week, enter that week’s income and expenses while you still remember them, and tick them off against the bank statement. That is the core of bookkeeping.
Doing your own books with EasyBooks
EasyBooks is bookkeeping software for Mac, iPhone and iPad. You record income and expenses, reconcile your entries with your bank statement, and your profit and loss account and balance sheet are built from the transactions you have already entered, with no spreadsheet to rebuild. If you work with a partner, you can keep the same books together.
1 subscription covers unlimited devices, businesses and transactions, so you can keep separate books for each business you run. You can see how bookkeeping works in EasyBooks, or try it free for 14 days with no card needed.
Still have a question about bookkeeper duties?
What does a bookkeeper do for a small business?
A bookkeeper records the business’s day-to-day money: sales, purchases, payments and invoices. They keep those records accurate and up to date, reconcile them with the bank, and hand clean books to an accountant.
Do I need a bookkeeper, or can I do it myself?
Yes, you can keep your own books, especially while the business is small. You do not need an accounting qualification to start, only a steady routine and a system that keeps the records in one place.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
A bookkeeper records and organises your transactions day to day. An accountant uses those records to advise you and to prepare year-end accounts and tax returns.
Can a sole trader do their own bookkeeping?
Yes, a sole trader can record their own income and expenses, keep receipts and check reports without a bookkeeper. EasyBooks for sole traders keeps those records in one place on your Mac or iPhone.
How often should bookkeeping be done?
Little and often works best. A short session once a week keeps the job small and the figures current.
